Fierce Love

I stand for the power of fierce love to change the dream of the world.

"O Love that wilt not let me go" are the first words of an 1882 hymn by George Matheson.  Love that will not let go it doesn't get more fierce than this. It doesn't get more insistent. It doesn't get deeper. It doesn't get stronger.

That fierce, insistent, powerful love is the primary thread that runs through all my "Life Purpose Statements" in one of the columns over on the right-hand side of this page. Love is the current of connection, the juice of partnership, the energy of relationship. Fierce love champions, encourages, challenges, protects, inspires, and above all holds on and won't let go. Fierce love holds a vision of what is possible and believes that the possible will become the actual. Fierce love has the power to change lives, to change the world.

Magnificence in August

August is nearly over. It has been a glorious month. It's been an odd summer. Last year I did  a lot of biking all summer. I wanted to be out earlier this summer, but May was freezing, June was windy and filled with the Wisconsin Conference Annual Meeting, winding up my work as Association Minister, and closing my office. July was scorching hot - weeks of 100+ degree weather or rain. Lots of rain. Heat and rain. Rain and heat. It was not good biking weather. It was good whining weather, and I'm sure I did some of that.

But August. Ah, August.

Failure? Or Detour?

I'm trying to become a fan of failure.

For the last 19 months, I've been on a journey toward improved health and fitness.  I've lost about 160 pounds with more to go, gained actual hard biceps and some ab muscles I can begin to feel at least a little bit.  I can walk for several miles, ride a bike for 20-30 miles, walk up and down stairs with ease, and do all kinds of things I couldn't do before.  Using many measures, I've had a lot of success.

I also had a tough winter.  Stress, grief, and anxiety in many forms took their toll, as did what felt like too many months of cold and snow.  I gained back about fifteen pounds, maybe a little more.  A couple of days ago, I read a blog over on SparkPeople from someone who had done the same thing.  She talked about it as her "failure."  She made a vow not to fail again.  I recoiled from this, and I began to wonder why.